# Mechanisms underlying sensory over-responsivity in ASD and early adversity

> **NIH NIH K08** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2020 · $192,835

## Abstract

Candidate: This is a K08 application for Shulamite Green, Ph.D., an F32 postdoctoral fellow at the University
of California Los Angeles (transitioning to assistant professor by the award start date). Dr. Green's career goal
is to become an independent investigator and leader in the field of sensory over-responsivity (SOR) from an
interdisciplinary and transdiagnostic perspective. This K08 award will provide Dr. Green with the necessary
training to gain expertise in 1) behavioral and psychophysiological methods of assessing SOR; 2) advanced
brain connectivity methods; and 3) the effect of early life stress on the development of brain, behavior, and risk
for psychiatric disorders. Environment: Mentorship will be provided by Drs. Susan Bookheimer, Michelle
Craske, and Nim Tottenham, experts in cutting-edge neuroimaging methods, psychophysiology and
translational research, and the effect of early life stress on the brain, respectively. Research and Career
Development: Sensory over-responsivity (SOR) is an impairing condition manifested as extreme sensitivity to
stimuli such as being touched, scratchy clothing, or loud noises. SOR is pervasive across neurodevelopmental
disorders with both genetic and environmental causes, including over 50% of children with autism spectrum
disorders (ASD) and those with early life stress. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms for
risk and resilience to SOR across populations, and SOR is not well identified or treated in most clinical groups.
The proposed study will integrate behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuroimaging methods to characterize
SOR across youth with ASD and those with early life stress. Participants will be 28 children with early life
stress due to adoption from foster care (AFC), 28 with ASD and 28 age- and IQ-matched typically developing
(TD) controls, ages 8-16 years. The aims of the study include: 1) examining shared and distinct behavioral and
pyschophysiological markers of SOR as well as their relation to mental health difficulties and social
competence; 2) using functional imaging (fMRI) to test whether SOR is related to similar patterns of neural
responsiveness, habituation, and functional connectivity during sensory stimulation in AFC, ASD, and TD
youth; and 3) examining group differences in the effect of distracting auditory stimuli on reaction time,
physiological arousal, and functional brain connectivity during emotion identification. This work will contribute to
the field by facilitating an interdisciplinary understanding of SOR as a transdiagnostic phenotype with
implications for improvement of targeted assessment and intervention. These aims are consistent with the
Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework as well as the NIMH strategic plan to focus on individual
differences in brain circuitry across diverse populations as a source of risk and resilience for mental illness.
This research will lay the foundation for Dr. Green's career as a leading expert in the neur...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9977797
- **Project number:** 5K08MH112871-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Shulamite Abra Green
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $192,835
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9977797

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9977797, Mechanisms underlying sensory over-responsivity in ASD and early adversity (5K08MH112871-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9977797. Licensed CC0.

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